Junior goes to California

By Atlanta Correspondent Linda Madrid  

       They say that California is one of the largest producers of nuts in the world.  So no one seemed to notice when a few more arrived at the Ontario Airport January 25, 2002.

We started our trip in Beaumont Calif., which is very near Palm Springs. It was at Beaumont that Junior and baby Quackers met and became friends with Jonathan Eagle.  Jonathan helped to plan the search for Ms. Quackers.

       Palm Springs is full of fancy cars and golf carts and had street names like Bob Hope Avenue but no sightings of Ms. Quackers. (Junior and baby Quackers would have loved to keep the fancy car and the golf cart but this Fairy godmother has a beer pocket book not a Champagne one.)  

We headed north along the coast visiting friends and relatives as we went. There is nothing like the beautiful California coastline.

The first real proof that indeed that Ms. Quackers has been in California came at of all places the Santa Barbara Mission. Ms. Quackers, while on retreat at the mission, thought she had found her Prince Charming.  The one of results of this passionate but short-lived love affair was Teeny bop Quackers. Now the three abandon off spring have teamed up to continue the search for naughty but fun loving Ms. Quackers, (wayward Mom and Step Mom.) 

Now our search continued up the coast we visited the Hearst Castle with Friends.  Now the guards searched our bags saying they were looking for lunch. The guard declared that the ducks were not edible. (Junior was quite relieved)  The ducks had to remain in my purse.  We were told several times not to touch anything. 

After we left San Simeon we headed for the mountains. (Gold country) We met a nice miner that pointed the way to a possible sighting of Ms. Quackers. What we found in of all places Calaveras County (the home of the jumping frogs) was Demy Quackers twin to Teeny bop Quackers. Demy Quackers had followed her father Prince Charming.

We made and interesting discovery of what actually happens to some Prince Charmings. (They turn into frogs.)  What a fitting place for a Prince turned frog to end up Calaveras County. Places were they have road names like Jackass Hill.  I now have it on good authority that you don’t kiss a frog to get a Prince but you say “I do” and your Prince Charming turns into a frog. I have not personally experienced this phenomenon (my Prince has stayed a Prince).  Now one of my close friends had the miss fortune to have her Prince Charming make such a transformation.  It was from her experience and others that I learned it was not the kissing but the “I do” that caused the transformation to occur.  In my friends case she said it only took two weeks after the “I do” that transformation was complete; needless to say she is now a confirmed bachelorette.  It could have been this unfortunate experience that has our Ms. Quackers wandering.

We left Demy Quackers with her friend (you really did not believe it was the frog Demy cared for did you?) and headed for San Francisco.

      We ended our trip with a ride on a cable car, lunch at Fisherman’s Wharf, and trip to China Town. We returned home with Junior eager to read “The Jumping Frog of Calaveras County” By Mark Twain. (I wonder why)